You can’t be a hub manufacturer these days without having an Asynchronous Transfer Mode strategy, preferably a phased one. So step forward Cabletron Systems Inc, which has elaborated a four phase strategy that relies on a technology agreement with Fore Systems Inc to provide stop-gap technology, pending the introduction of a whole new hub during the first quarter of next year. UK marketing manager for the Rochester, New Hampshire company, David Palmer-Stevens says that what happened was that some large customers said ‘we want to get our hands on ATM now’… we had to move fast. Palmer-Stevens says that he cannot talk about specific customers, but while there are no UK ones yet, requests have already been received from Germany and the US. At the moment a lot of the interest is coming from academia, but, he says, commercial users are getting interested in multimedia applications too. He candidly admits that the speed of uptake came as a surprise. Moving fast in this case means extending the existing technology deal with Asynchronous Transfer Mode specialist Fore Systems Inc. Fore builds an Asynchronous Transfer Mode hub which can connect to either eight or 16 desktop devices and this, together with its Asynchronous Transfer Mode adaptor boards, will be used by Cabletron as a stop-gap to satisfy existing demand. With this breathing space, it is busy working on phase two of the plan. This is embodied in a hub module that links its existing Multi Media Access Centre, MMAC, chassis to an Asynchronous Transfer Mode backbone, which should be ready by the third quarter. The module will serve as a router between the the conventional local network segments and the asynchronous network. Towards the end of the year the company is aiming to have phase three – true Asynchronous Transfer Mode to the desktop, in place. This will be achieved though further boards supporting unshielded and shielded twisted pair copper and monomode fibre cabling. Last of all there is the grand replacement of the Multi Media Access Centre with the next generation hub which will double as an Asynchronous Transfer Mode switch. Unlike all of the previous phases which rely on technology from Fore, Palmer-Stevens says that this will all be Cabletron’s own work. And availability? He says early next year.
